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Death, posterity and the vulnerable self : Galen’s Περὶ Ἀλυπίας in the context of his late writings
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Petit, Caroline (2018) Death, posterity and the vulnerable self : Galen’s Περὶ Ἀλυπίας in the context of his late writings. In: Petit, Caroline, (ed.) Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in context : a tale of resilience. Studies in Ancient Medicine, 52 . Leiden: Brill , pp. 41-62. ISBN 9789004383302
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WRAP-death-posterity-vulnerable-self-Galens-writings-Petit-2018.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 4.0. Download (170Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004383302_004
Abstract
The form and contents of Galen’s newly recovered letter περὶ ἀλυπίας have come under intense scrutiny, especially since 2010, when both critical edi-tions by Kotzia/Soutiroudis and Boudon-Millot/Jouanna respectively were published. Galen’s philosophical mindset, in particular, has attracted consider-able interest, since he addresses a number of issues around pain and grief that have concerned philosophers before and after him. Similarly, the additional clues given away by Galen about his own life, possessions and opinions have overall been carefully studied, although some degree of controversy affects the interpretation of the text itself. Most specialists of Galen have come to grips with the meaning of the letter in the context of the rest of his production. But seldom has the text been subject to rhetorical analysis, beyond identifying its main logical articulations and unfolding its overall argument. Galen’s words, however, lend themselves quite well to a rhetorical reading: the notion of μεγαλοψυχία (‘magnanimity’), prominent in the text,1 is as typical of a good rhetor’s ēthos as of a philosopher’s. In this chapter, I intend to explore what the περὶ ἀλυπίας brings us in terms of self-characterization by Galen at this point in life. In other words, what does the περὶ ἀλυπίας add to, or transform, in terms of our understanding of Galen’s ēthos? Is this just a typical old man stance about wisdom and knowledge, or is there more? How does it supplement Galen’s other extant texts about himself, especially among the works of his later life?
To answer this question, I will include some thoughts on the evidence about Galen’s last few years (a relatively neglected topic) and about the role of old age in his texts, both as a fact and as a literary construct.
| Item Type: | Book Item | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) | ||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > Classics and Ancient History | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Galen -- Criticism and interpretation, Medicine, Greek and Roman | ||||
| Series Name: | Studies in Ancient Medicine | ||||
| Publisher: | Brill | ||||
| Place of Publication: | Leiden | ||||
| ISBN: | 9789004383302 | ||||
| Book Title: | Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in context : a tale of resilience | ||||
| Editor: | Petit, Caroline | ||||
| Official Date: | 24 December 2018 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 52 | ||||
| Number of Pages: | 296 | ||||
| Page Range: | pp. 41-62 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.1163/9789004383302_004 | ||||
| Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 18 February 2019 | ||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 18 February 2019 | ||||
| Related URLs: |
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